Zal'Kazzir's Dark Gambit
Zal'Kazzir is relentless in his hatred of the Corpse-God Izrador, and has ventured onto perilous roads to better arm himself to overthrow the Shadow in the North.
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Toying with Taint[edit]
Places of Evil carry with them an insidious, corrupting energy, and those long exposed to these places, or who are witness to truly abominable scenes or places may be touched by this energy, called 'Taint'.
The effects of taint are subtle at first, but as taint points proliferate, the effects become more profound and more horrendous. Any non-channeler who accumulates 30 or more taint points must make a will save, DC 10 + Taint Points each day or melt into vile black ichor and the tattered remains of her spirit rise as an allip, a tortured spirit of madness, and be drawn to the screaming maelstrom above the scar.
Taint and Channelers[edit]
Taint poses an especially insidious hazard for channelers, who gain a 'taint pool' whenever they gain taint. This pool can be used to cast spells, spending taint points in lieu of spell energy. All channelers who have a taint pool are considered 'Tainted Channelers', and face corruption, as described below.
Taint is spent on a 1-1 basis in tainted areas, and a 2-1 basis in non tainted areas. Taint is refreshed at a rate of 1 point per hour and fully upon rest while in tainted areas. In non tainted areas, taint does not recover at all, and is lost at a rate of 1 point per day. For purposes of taint cost, taint recovery and taint loss, any area under the influence of a Black Mirror counts as tainted, even if the location itself does not cause taint.
Tainted Spellcasting[edit]
Casting spells using taint has dangerous consequences, and is insidiously corrupting. Each tainted spell cast prompts a Will Save (DC 10 +Spell Level +Number of Taint points used to cast the spell) failure results in the gain of 1d2-1 additional taint points.
Additionaly, the corrupting nature of taint means that a tainted channeler must make a Will Save (DC 10 +Taint Pool -spell energy). Success allows increase in spell energy as normal, while failure results in the channeler's taint pool increasing, rather that her spell energy increasing; failure by 10 or more also lowers available spell energy by one and increases taint pool by an additional one.
Corruption[edit]
Tainted channelers do not suffer doom upon reaching 30 taint points, rather, channelers whose taint pool exceeds their maximum spell energy become 'corrupted channelers' and they are forever marked by their embrace of dark power. The amount by which a corrupted channeler's Taint pool exceeds her maximum spell energy is called her 'Corruption Score', and this corruption brings power, but also severe drawbacks.
The defining characteristic of all corrupted channelers is their dependance on taint, whether they like it or not. Corrupted channelers who reach 0 taint, whether through spellcasting or through taint loss in non-tainted areas immedately suffer the same fate as non-channelers with 30+ taint points, albeit with no saving throw.
As a corrupted channeler's corruption score increases, she gains power in the form of 'Dark Gifts' and is afflicted by 'Dark Marks'. These blessings and curses rise in potency and severity as the corrupted channeler is further tainted, and upon reaching a corruption score of 30 or more is subject to "Shadowy Apotheosis" an unknown, but likely hideous effect.
Zal'Kazzir's Personal Corruption[edit]
Zal'Kazzir is a Corrupted Channeler; after being afflicted with taint, he has chosen to use it's power, and has already been touched by it's dark caress. After the encounted with the sleeper in Vrolk's tower, Zal'Kazzir's taint score surpassed his spell energy and he began to feel the effects of corruption. Zal'Kazzir has been affected by the following dark gifts and dark marks:
- Worm-Tongued: Taint has given the corrupted channeler the malevolent power to influence the minds of others; the corrupted channeler gains a +4 Profane bonus to Diplomacy checks and the difficulty of saves against his compulsion effects is increased by one.
- Black Eyed: The corrupted channeler's eyes turn into inky black pools; staring into them is like staring into the abyss itself. The corrupted channeler is extremely sensitive to light, taking a -1 penalty to attacks and skill checks in bright light, and is effectively blind in full daylight.
- Dark Speech (Requires Worm-Tongued and Black Eyed): The corrupted channeler's voice throbs with the undeniable authority of dark power. The corrupted channeler may use the spell Command as a spell like ability at will (DC 10 +1/2 caster level +casting ability modifier), however this ability is not language dependant, and can therefore affect even animals. In addition, the difficulty of saves against his enchantment effects is increased by one (This stacks with Worm-Tongued for enchantment, compulsion effects).
